Feeling stuck in current job
Feeling pretty stuck in my current role and not sure how to move forward. I have a bit over a year of pretty solid IB experience at a good bank and then went to strategic finance role at a relatively well known large company. My current role has definitely been much better work-life balance and the culture / people are great, but it feels very slow and stagnant compared to the pace and progress in banking. I admittedly was not in a great place during banking and really wanted wlb but now feeling antsy about getting stuck in corporate at a relatively junior level. The work itself has also gotten less interesting over time due to the current economic climate focusing less on the market / growth strategy that I was interested in and into projects dealing more with nitty-gritty accounting level work focusing on operations and costs. I did really like the deal process and valuation work in banking and thought a higher level strategy type role would've been interesting but I do also miss some of the more pure technical finance application as well. I also really do enjoy following the markets which wasn't directly my role in banking obviously but is basically nonexistent in corporate.
In my position, I'm not sure what would make sense next. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to move to another corporate, even in a more M&A / technical role, as I think the pace still isn't quite the same as financial services. I am very young but it feels like many doors that I previously had in banking would be shut now. I've thought about going back to IB (not anytime soon in the current landscape) or trying to use my past banking experience for some sort of investing roles though currently being in a corporate role will definitely add a hurdle to making that switch. Obviously not MF/UMM PE but if there's any sort of LMM/MM PE or public investing roles still possible I would definitely be interested in that route. I am also hesitant about moving onto a third job and the implications there on my resume. I have thought about b-school but the cost makes me wary unless i have a very specific plan. I would greatly appreciate any advice or personal anecdotes on what others have done if in similar situations.
Bump - been feeling pretty lost career-wise. Appreciate any wisdom.
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Hey man, appreciate the response. I’m wary of straying further away from financial services and hoping to get back in and thinking moreso how to make that transition in my story. I thought about consulting but think it’s too qualitative and honestly not enjoying ops related work to go further down that path. Might need an mba reset at some point but would prefer not to. Also worried about the job hopping rep if I leave this job too soon but also as you said the longer I stay the more it feels like it traps you.
bump
Empathize a lot with this. I just left IB for a corp dev / strategy role and have been really disappointed with the move. I'm only ~6 months into the new role, but the lack of deal flow + limited training/development + comparatively lower comp have made me regret this decision a lot.
I see this point from a lot of people on this forum (and frankly had a hard time implementing it myself), but for all the prospective corporate defectors out there, a) please try make sure you have a clear idea of your day-to-day and the culture at the corporation you're moving to and b) avoid making career decisions in the midst of burnout. Ultimately the talent pool in the corporate world is completely different, and it's hard to find the same caliber of colleagues, training, and opportunities on this side of the fence. That's why picking the right corporation (eg Google, Amazon, etc.) and the right function internally (corp dev team that is actually acquisitive, internal strategy with ex-MBB leadership, etc) is so important, as these organizations and functions tend to attract a larger % of high caliber individuals.
I think a lot of us get unlucky with a shitty team, poor hours, etc. and then immediately feel the need to jump to something with better WLB. For those of you that are still in that boat, make sure you are running towards a good opportunity, rather than running away from a shitty banking experience. Otherwise you end up with a ton of regret and career roadblocks.
100% agree with this and OP - out of curiosity, have you made a move or how have things progressed?
Still stuck unfortunately. I have applied to 100s of jobs at this point and haven't gotten much traction. Seems like business school is my only option to get back on track.
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